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Showing posts from May, 2009

But is it art?

I've come across several articles recently about art, the purpose of art, why we have art, and the like. If you followed the links in the previous post, you'll notice I said something in the video about art being transformational. I wanted to expand on that idea a little bit with the challenge, is knitting art? Now in this case, I'm not talking about the centerpiece flowers, the eight-foot tall scarecrow, or other items that seem to be knitted sculpture. I think the jury has already come back regarding sculpture and art and that sculpture can be made out of a great many different things. What I'm wondering about is clothing or fashion. Is what we wear or how we dress art? And the example I'll use to make my case comes from Lars dah'link, a dear and long-time college chum who works in Manhattan. Lars dah'link has a friend who is planning her wedding. The bride is around forty, and this is her first time walking down the aisle. She is trying to keep to

What Have I Been Doing With My Time?

For those of you wondering why there hasn't been more on this blog, it's because there's been a lot over on the Atlanta Knitting Guild blog. Since starting a guild blog was my idea, and since I was president, the first around 130 posts are mostly mine. Hey, if you aren't willing to put in the work, don't make the suggestion. I'm very happy as I head into my sabbatical to be handing the blogging off to the new board. It will be good to get more voices and other perspectives. I also hope my personal neglected blog here will get the attention it deserves from me. So what have I been doing? Or what has Atlanta Knitting Guild been doing that would make me devote so much time and energy? Check out this post , from photographer extraordinaire Alexis Xenakis. And watch the videos here . I enjoyed watching the other guild members in these videos, as they said some truly beautiful things. It was a privilege to lead this group this particular year. In the 24-year

Interlocking Leaves Success

I haven't knit much for myself over the past several months. So it felt really good to work on these. And it feels really good to finish them, even if they are autumn/winter knee socks and we're about to head into high summer. I discussed these socks previously in this post back in March. The pattern is from Knitty Fall 2008. I used 2.4 skeins of Plymouth Happy Feet in colorway 4. I was working both socks at the same time magic-loop style on a 47-inch Knit Picks circular needle , size 2.50 mm. At the time, I had worked past the heel turn. The rest of leg was mostly uneventful. I worked the 22-row lace pattern over and over. At the end of the row repeat, I'd try on the stockings to see how they stretched over my calves. For the most part, they seemed to be fitting pretty well. If you've made knee socks or stockings, you know that the danger is in getting enough stretch through the calf. I am fortunate to have fairly narrow legs -- truth be told, long and na

A Good Cookie

I've said previously, I'm really not a sock knitter. I prefer to knit sweaters, jackets, and shawls. However, I am a book harlot. I am just as likely to buy a knitting book as I am to buy yarn. In fact, the only purchases I made in the STITCHES South marketplace were printed matter. Four days and I bought no yarn. Partly that's because I can read faster than I can knit. Partly that's because I've done four shop hops in the last five years and worked for two different local shops, so my stash really is full of very nice stuff that needs to be used and loved. But partly too, I enjoy knitting for the intellectual and creative stimulation. Reading knitting books gives me more ideas. It expands my mind as well as my creativity. If I have enough yarn, what I don't have enough of is time. And I'm not all that fast a knitter. So when I cast on a project, it needs to be worthy of the precious time resource that is being devoted to it. I haven't knit